Grit Racing Series returns to West Dundee, Elgin with daylong events

Chicago Tribune

12-07-2025

The 10-stop Grit Racing Series of cycling races gets underway Friday with the West Dundee River Challenge, and then returns to the area a week later with the Elgin Classic on July 25.
Both will once again bring cyclists from around the world to the Fox Valley while offering an array of attractions above and beyond biking.
'We currently have nine homes between East and West Dundee hosting about 23 athletes. Other than domestic riders and maybe some Canadians, six are Aussies,' said Maureen Himmel, who volunteers to promote the Challenge.
Himmel and her family are hosting competitors again, sharing their home with Ryan DeWald and other riders from Texas-based Team Cadence Cyclery pb Encore Wire, which is affiliated Team Skyline.
'That is the OG team that stayed with us in 2016, the first year West Dundee hosted the Challenge,' Himmel said. 'Ryan and my family have become very good friends. He and the team haven't been here since 2021, so we're looking forward to that.'
DeWald, who lives in Pennsylvania, said he's enjoyed his visits to West Dundee, which he called a Midwestern gem.
'The hilly course is next to a nice park (Grafelman),' he said. 'Our team doesn't race until the evening so the nearby bike path is a good place to keep warmed up without having to worry about getting run over by cars.'
In addition to competing, DeWald will be at the event representing Winning the Race With Diabetes, a nonprofit set up to inspire, educate and support people who, like DeWald, are living with Type 1 diabetes.
That organization will have a booth at the Challenge. In addition to providing information about Type 1 diabetes, it will also offer information about lifestyle and diet choices for people with Type 2 diabetes, DeWald said.
A new nonprofit booth this year will be manned by Project Mobility, a 23-year-old organization founded by The Bike Rack owner Hal Honeyman and his sister, Tammy Simmons. Honeyman's St. Charles business provides adaptive bikes for disabled adults and children.
The booth will offer information about and display adaptive bikes and will be selling lemonade to raise money for its effort, Simmons said.
Village Squire owner Bob Karas supports Project Mobility's Queen of Hearts fundraising efforts, with drawings held at The Squire Ale House in Campton Hills, she said.
'The Village Squire will be selling buy-one-get-one free Queen of Hearts tickets, too, at their outdoor drink stand at the Challenge,' Simmons said.
The Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation will be raising money at the event with a 'Shuck You Cancer' cornhole tournament starting at 8 p.m. in the parking lot of First American Bank, 218 W. Main St.
'Bags are a great way for communities to support the organization, all while having fun,' said foundation volunteer Connie Tracy, of West Dundee. 'As to why a bag tournament, the big problem with neuroblastoma is awareness. The organization itself focuses on helping families and research. We felt being able to let people in the community hear the word while having fun was a great combination.'
Back at the Challenge this year will be a kid zone and an open air market in Grafelman Park at 112 N. 5th St., a kid bike parade and an after party off Second Street downtown.
'Our open air market gets bigger every year, and we're hoping with the new West Dundee French Market we'll entice visitors to wander all over town to shop and spectate,' Himmel said.
Down the road from West Dundee, the Elgin Classic takes place July 25 on the city's northeast side with a start/finish line at the intersection of Cooper Avenue and Spring Street, adjacent to the former location of Sherman Hospital.
Hosted by the Northeast Neighborhood of Elgin, the Elgin Classic has been held since 2017 and honors Dennis Jurs, an avid cyclist who died at age 68 after being struck by an SUV in Hampshire in 2015. His death led to the creation of a state law that mandates that bicyclists have the same right-of-way rights as motorists.
As in West Dundee, Elgin Classic organizers find housing for visiting riders. After noticing so many riders spoke Spanish as their first language, they've made an effort to accommodate them, said Eric Larson, chairman of the Elgin Classic host committee.
'We've launched an initiative to include Spanish-speaking or bilingual homes as part of Elgin's contingent of host housing, making the experience even more comfortable for Spanish-speaking riders and highlighting a key component of the greater Elgin community,' Larson said.
Loli Gudino and her husband will be hosting four men from a New Zealand team at their home and their daughter's family is doing the same for two others.
This is the sixth time she's volunteered to help with the Elgin Classic, she said. In past years she was a race marshal responsible for monitoring intersections. This time she's on the host committee and has been recruiting friends, family and coworkers to get involved in one way or another, she said.
'I've lived in Elgin for 61 years, and there was nothing like this in the old days,' Gudino said. 'The races are a great way for people to see and experience what my neighborhood and Elgin have to offer.'
Beyond racing, Elgin Classic organizers will be distributing refurbished bikes and new helmets to youths in need, something they've been doing since 2021. There also will be an evening family fun ride through the city's northeast side and a festival area, set up in partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Elgin, with food trucks and a beer tent.
What Larson enjoys about his neighborhood hosting the races is the reaction it gets from people who come to view it.
'Many of them haven't seen competitive cycling before and are surprised to find out how it works,' he said.
For more information on the two events, go to www.wdundeeriverchallenge.org and dennisjursmemorialrace.com.